species of the walker basin

A wide variety of fish and wildlife species inhabit the Walker Basin and can be found within the different habitat types present in the Basin. Given the region’s varied topography and changes in elevation, this region exhibits distinct, differentiated vegetation communities extending from the east slope of the Sierra Nevada to the Great Basin Desert. These habitats include upland shrub communities that may be dominated by big sagebrush and rabbitbrush or saltbush and shadscale; riparian along the river at various successional stages; wet and alkali meadows; and agricultural lands. Such habitat diversity inherently yields fish and wildlife diversity, offering vast areas of natural, as well as agricultural, landscapes to fish and wildlife of many species. A few of the more common or readily encountered species are highlighted here.